Chapter 13 requires amonthly payment from three to five years. It allow you to cure arrearages formortgages, carloans,taxes,or family support, or pay what you are required to pay under the Means Test. A portion of the money may go to general creditors, like credit cards.

There’s a common fear that those payment is written in stone for the full length of your case. That’s just not true.

Any decrease in income or increase in expenses can support a modified or amended plan where you pay less. Lower income could result from a cut in pay or change of jobs, or increased costs for work benefits such as health insurance. Increased expenses might result fromcar maintenance for a car as it gets older, or raising a child as the child gets older, or a medical condition or simply an increase in medical co-payments.

If you need to pay a fixed amount to cure a certain arrears, then perhaps you can pay less for a longer time up to the five year maximum and achieve that cure.

The payment can end entirely witha Chapter 13 hardship dischargeor conversion to Chapter 7,but you do not get the benefitof curing a loan’s arrears if the cure is not completely paid.

Some jurisdictions allow a suspension of the payment in the event of a short term problem, like changing jobs or moving or a sudden and large medical or repair expense. Under a suspension, the total of all payments does not change and the extended payments can never exceed the five year maximum.

Here’s my point. You file a Chapter 13 case for whatever the reason is. Don’t be afraid of being stuck with the original payment. The payment can change if your situation changes.

L. Jed Berliner practices exclusively in consumer bankruptcy, foreclosure defense, and related consumer protection litigation such as credit card defenses and suing debt collectors. He established his Springfield, MA practice in 1988.
Attorney Berliner is a regular and active contributor to the Bankruptcy Law Network, the Bankruptcy Roundtable, and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, three specialized consumer bankruptcy forums on the Internet, and is an informal mentor to regional practitioners. He is recognized by his peers as an expert in consumer bankruptcy issues. He thoroughly enjoys being rated "excellent" in his client surveys.